Just a quick note to say hello to you lovely people after a lengthy break from Alborford! The action will pick up exactly where things left off from….the last time we were in Rex Road: Max had proposed to Fiona and she had accepted; Nathan and Laura were having a fling, and coming quite close to being punished by his live-in girlfriend Lisa; Phil had left for a new job in Chelmsford; Jo had been dumped by her fiancé….

 

Don’t forget to help build the Alborford community in the Forum. You can help influence the plots with your own discussion threads…and look out for topics that I’ll put there to get things moving!

 

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Finally, ‘Rex Road’ does not charge a subscription at the moment, but if you’re feeling generous and would like to show some appreciation for the new look with your currency, feel free to donate something via Paypal (DanAlborough@aol.com),

or get in touch with me for my address to donate in other ways.

 

Now, I’ll stop waffling…back to Alborford we go….

 

Nathan and Laura were sat in the coffee shop of the Wyatt-Williams Department Store on Alborford High Street. It was Sunday at three o’clock and the place wasn’t too busy at that time.

 

‘Of course I want to keep seeing you,’ Laura tried to reassure Nathan, looking nervously over his shoulder at everybody in sight.

 

‘Getting distracted are we?’ Nathan sneered.

 

‘Well, it’s hardly a subtle place to meet is it?!’ Laura started to get more annoyed with him now.

 

‘We are allowed to bump into each other and share a coffee, Laura. Unless Lisa walked in and saw us kissing, then I don’t think there’s too much to worry about…’

 

He held her hand at the side of the table…out of sight – even Nathan felt a bit nervous about secret meetings sometimes.

 

‘Let’s carry on, you know the score, I don’t feel as much for Lisa as I do for you,’ he grinned, trying to encourage her to do the same.

 

‘Not enough to live with me, though,’ Laura hissed through gritted teeth.

 

Kris was feeling more like her old self again. She knew that when she realised how much Jo was getting on her nerves!

 

‘You weren’t seeing him for that long, were you? He’s not worth the upset, Jo.

You can’t ruin your studies for his sake, we’ll have finished at college this year, and the rest of our lives can start!’ Kris was trying not to be too harsh, but wanted Jo to see that Mike wasn’t worth the bother. Neither of them were mentioning Jo’s one night stand with Jack, who they both thought was much more suitable!

 

‘Yeah,’ Jo sniffed, ‘I know you’re right….tell you what, shall we go down the pub tonight and have a few, we don’t have lectures until Tuesday?’

 

Kris smiled ‘Sure, that’s my girl! Now that it’s just us, we need to be there for each other.’

 

They both stopped for a moment, wondering how Phil was getting on in Chelmsford.

 

‘That’s a point, Mum and Dad will want us to get a new lodger in before too long..I was so shocked when they said they’d bought this place…it makes things easier for us, Kris, but it’s another thing they can hold over me…’

 

‘We’ll worry about that another day, let’s get tarted up shall we?!’ Kris’s party girl moods always made Jo laugh, so they cranked up some music and it all seemed more like the old times.

 

Fiona was busy rushing around to see Josie with some bridal brochures, when she bumped into Sam.

 

‘Hi darlin’, how are you, future brother-in-law?!’ She giggled. Some people found Fiona’s airhead and scatty manner irritating, but Sam thought it was quite endearing really.

 

‘I’m good, Holly’s certainly teaching me a thing or two…you and Max have got all that to come!’

 

‘We have, honey! And who’d have thought you’d have been the first of the Reynolds boys to be a father, especially with all your troubles with the law, I would have put money on Max being first!’ Maybe she wasn’t quite so endearing, thought Sam.

 

‘Er, yeah…look, I’ve got to get to the shops, but catch you later!’

 

Moments later, Fiona was stirring up a storm with Josie.

 

‘Oh, it’s going to be amazing, Josie! Or Mum, can I call you Mum?!’

 

Josie felt her stomach tie up in knots.

 

‘One step at a time, dear, you’re not even married yet. Have you finally settled on a date yet?

 

‘Well, I like the idea of a spring wedding, so if we can get things sorted, hopefully late April or early May! I could burst!’

 

‘Oh yes, me too…’ Josie was trying to take to her future daughter-in-law, but it wasn’t going to be easy!

 

MONDAY

 

Rachel had dropped Harry off with Ros at Number Ten, and made her way over to the High Street, for a morning’s work at the Magnolia Beauty Salon.

 

‘Rachel! Hey!’ It was Val Lucas. Rachel really wasn’t in the mood for chatting to her, but somehow started crossing Mill Road towards her anyway, instead of just moving on.

 

‘Hello, Val, how are you?’ Rachel could hear herself almost sighing.

 

‘Oh, not too bad. You’re heading back to work more and more are you?’ Rachel couldn’t quite tell if there was a hint of criticism in Val’s tone.

 

‘Yes, Ros is looking after having three mornings a week, while I go to work. It’s good for Harry to be with Holly too.’

 

Val sniffed haughtily ‘Well, you young ones have always had time for everything, I couldn’t have fit it all in!’

 

‘Yes….well, Val, I’d better be going now…’

 

‘Ooh, how’s Richard’s new job going?’ She couldn’t resist asking, because she’d seen Richard coming home very late every night.

 

Rachel felt goosebumps at talking about it, her and Richard weren’t getting on at all. However, there was no way that she was going to let Val know that, she wouldn’t give her the satisfaction.

 

‘It’s going really well, thanks, it’s hard work though,’ Rachel eyed Val nervously as she spoke.

 

‘Oh, it must be, he’s not coming home until late every night I’ve noticed…I hope it’s worth it, Rachel!’ And with that, Val turned on her heel and left Rachel fuming on Mill Road.

 

 

 

© 2010 Danny Alborough / DJA Publications
All characters, names and situations are fictitious.
Any similarities to places or people, living or dead, are purely coincidental.